Therapists earn their living by failing you every week. I'm not that kind of girl. My goal is to make you go away fast -- with a solution to your problem, insight into what's causing it, and practical actions for you to take so you can stop messing up your life and maybe even get what you want.

No, I'm not a licensed therapist, doctor, psychologist, or psychiatrist. I'm a smart girl who thinks a lot and reads a lot (books and the latest research in psychology, anthropology, and related areas), and who uses reason to solve people's emotional problems.

What qualifies me? Read my column and decide whether you think I can help you with my cut-the-crap, science-based advice. As the late co-founder of cognitive behavioral therapy, Albert Ellis, once wrote to me, about the thinking behind my work, "I find you saner than most of the therapists I know."